Tuesday, November 24, 2009

After scanning the news wires this morning, I was forced to take a second look at the calendar. Yep. Two days before Thanksgiving 2009. Then why are there stories floating around suggesting Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs run for president in 2012? President of what? POTUS? Yep.

Of the three, Beck scares me the most. Not that he would be drafted to run for president by the Republicans or a third-party conservative group. But his announced plans to hold conventions to educate people about self-reliance, the economy and community organizing as a step toward building an effective electoral force.

That's right. Glenn Beck, the community organizer.

"America, we cannot wait for a leader anymore," Beck told his radio and TV audiences Monday. "The people must lead, and the leader will follow." Professor Beck at the lectern poses a frightening scenario of spewing hate, fear, untruths and bigotry with an uncanny knack of adding two and two equaling five.

Even those who disagree with his causes, to not take this demagogue seriously backed by the Fox News Corp. and top ratings on the cable news channels is a dangerous path. Think of those 9/12 crowds he attracted to Washington whether they numbered 4,000, 40,000 or 400,000. Doesn't matter. The guy's a real life pied piper.

Beck's announcement is the latest in a series of attempts by well-known, right-leaning figures to fill a leadership void in the Republican Party -- which has no clear standard-bearer and has seen a schism open between its moderates and conservatives. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is drawing large crowds on a national book tour. Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham is asking GOP candidates to sign a 10-point pledge on her website.

Should Beck make progress in his efforts, it could widen the split within the party. He has cast himself as an outsider, an enemy of the "bipartisan corruption" in Washington. Many of his viewers and listeners favor the tea-party movement that has developed in reaction to fears that Obama is enlarging government's reach into the economy. Many also view the GOP establishment with suspicion.

As a concerned American citizen, I am in search of an American presidential candidate for 2012 that will represent truth, our founding fathers' principles, and a strong sense of ethical and moral standards.

If you do not know Glenn Beck, I encourage you to get to know him. Please watch his show on Fox News. I encourage you to research his background and listen to his concern for our country and its citizens. Above all, please recognize that he is a man with a high regard for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in all American citizens.

He is truly an American patriot and a caring, compassionate individual. The amount of honesty and empathy he has shown would make him an excellent presidential candidate for 2012. Right now, honesty and empathy are virtues completely lacking in Washington D.C. It is time to make a change!

If you are in support of the nomination of Glenn Beck for president in 2012, please sign below and this petition will be sent directly to him.

Former CNN anchor Dobbs is not at all shy about his presidential ambitions. Asked by former Sen. Fred Thompson on his radio show whether he was considering the presidency, Dobbs was quick to respond "Yes, is the answer."

Was it crazy talk, Dobbs was asked on another radio show. "What's so crazy about that?" Dobbs fired back.

Unlike Beck, Dobbs can be introspective. "I don't think I've got the nature for it...But we've got to do something in this country. And I think that being in the public arena means you've got to be part of the solution."

In recent years, Dobbs has been an outspoken critic of undocumented workers burdening our labor force, health, welfare and justice systems. During those years Dobbs insisted he was a registered independent. An independent hasn't been elected POTUS since the early 1800s, my friend John Adams once told me.

Palin, meanwhile, got encouragement for president today by Matthew Dowd, President Bush's 2004 campaign strategist. On condition she follow five suggestions to refine her image, Dowd said the political climate leading into 2012 are in her favor.

Like it or not, if Sarah Palin decides to seek our nation's highest office, she has a shot. The probability of her success depends on her ability, and that of President Obama, to admit and learn from their mistakes.

I reject Beck and Dobbs on grounds of lack of temperament and totally clueless on how to govern. President Beck? President Dobbs? It even sounds grotesque.

President Palin? If you thought Barack Obama was glitter over substance, you are surely being hoodwinked by this lady. Her few policy statements are broad bromides of conservative talking points for less spending, lower taxes and a robust national defense. That sounds nice on the campaign trail, but the devil is in the details of governing, a lesson Barack Obama is still trying to grasp.

It would come as no surprise at this writing if Palin won the Republican nomination for president in 2012. Can you imagine the options Democratic strategists would have. First question out of the shute:

"Mrs. Palin. If you are elected, do you plan to serve an entire term?"

About My View

Welcome: An intelligent and articulate discussion is desired in these days of partisan politics. These postings are commentary on national politics, current events, sports and any other stuff that generates civil conversation. My career in the newspaper business extends more than 25 years at the Klamath Falls Hearld & News, Tustin News, Orange Daily News, Santa Ana Register and San Diego Evening Tribune. Son of a vegetable farmer, I was raised in the predominately Mexican village of San Juan Capistrano. At age 11, my family moved to the nearby coastal city of Laguna Beach where body surfing became my favorite sport. I attended the private Webb School of California near Pomona. I graduated majoring in political science at the University of California at Davis. After my newspaper career, I became a landscape contractor in San Diego for 10 years and then groundskeeper for a RV resort on the bank of the Rogue River seven miles east of Gold Beach, Ore. I resumed my writing career, first with emails, and later launching this blogsite in 2007.